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APTA aims to provide leadership that supports and advances professional teaching associations by being a voice for the profession and building a supportive network for collaborative activities, projects and research.

The AGM will follow the June NEAT Meeting – a conversation with Dr Jennifer Buckingham at 6.00pm, where Member Association management committees are invited to attend to discuss or share any new endeavours, successes or issues and recommendations for the year ahead. Refreshments provided. This will be an important meeting for state-drawn financial members and the incoming NEAT management committee to make strategic decisions for the future advocacy role of NEAT in Tasmania and its affiliation as a joint council with the national umbrella association, APTA.

Dr. Jennifer Buckingham, Senior Research Fellow and Director of FIVE from FIVE project, The Centre for Independent Studies [www.cis.org.au] will address School leaders, Literacy co-ordinators and all interested teachers from NEAT Member Associations on

There is more sound research evidence on how children learn to read and the most effective ways to teach them than on any other aspect of education. Yet low literacy is still a major problem in Tasmania and across Australia. Dr. Jennifer Buckingham will discuss what she has learned from twenty years working on education policy and her research on reading instruction.

CIS and AITSL biography excerpts:
Dr. Buckingham is a Board member of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL); Associate Investigator, Centre for Cognition and Its Disorders (CCD), and Macquarie University Council member Learning Difficulties Australia (LDA). She commenced as an AITSL Director on 2 June 2015. At the Centre for Independent Studies, Dr. Buckingham has been researching and writing on education policy for over 15 years. She currently leads the CIS FIVE from FIVE Literacy Project, which aims to bridge the gap between research and practice in reading instruction.

Dr Buckingham’s main area of work is school education and she has published papers on school funding, international assessments, NAPLAN and My School, teacher training and employment, class size, and educational disadvantage. In early 2017, she chaired an expert advisory panel for the Australian government on the introduction of a national Year 1 literacy and numeracy assessment. Dr. Buckingham has a Ph.D. in literacy and social disadvantage from Macquarie University. She also acts as an Associate Investigator with the Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders.

Dr Buckingham has been at the forefront of the debate on education matters for more than a decade, with hundreds of articles in major newspapers and regular radio appearances. Her future work at CIS will continue to focus on school choice and funding, accountability for student performance, and effective instruction.

News on the national teacher registration review. Minister Birmingham said AITSL would facilitate the review that was being led by Mr Chris Wardlaw PSM, currently Chair of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and Deputy Chair of AITSL as well as announcing a panel of eight education experts.https://www.aitsl.edu.au/secondary/news-and-media

“The Review will look at the extent to whether there is national consistency in teacher registration processes across the country, including identifying examples of best practice, challenges and barriers. It will also look at the rigour with which the agreed Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, a driver for teacher quality, are applied in states and territories,” Chris Wardlaw, Chair of the National Review of Teacher Registration Expert Panel said. “Consultation is critical for the Review, and the independent expert panel intends to consult with a broad range of voices in every state and territory. “We invite anyone who would like to have a voice on the review to visit the AITSL website for details of the consultation. We would especially urge teachers and principals to participate in the consultation process. “Our teachers deserve to get the same level of support and development, no matter which state or territory they live in. The review will let us know the extent to which that is currently the case, and will make recommendations to improve the experience and impact for educators. The test for any changes would be that there is benefit for students in classrooms right across Australia,” Ms Rodgers said. The Expert Panel is expected to report back to Education Council later in the yearhttps://www.aitsl.edu.au/…/aitsl-media-release-national-rev…

NB: The full day session on Neuroscience and Learning has been postponed until 2018.

Andrew will cover how to establish a resilient mindset(classroom and and school), how to create a culture of co-operation in schools, strategies to help anxious and avoidant people to create the mindset, overcoming anxieties related to learning, optimal performance strategies in challenging moments, and how teachers and parents can intervene with behavioural problems effectively. This second and different event is free for Tasmanian teachers who are registered with NEAT’s Member Associations.

Andrew Fuller is the Director of Resilient Youth that has developed the resilience of over 160,000 young people. He works with many schools and communities in Australia and internationally to develop practical strategies that teachers and parents can use to help young people reach their potential. He is the author of bestselling books, such as Unlocking Your Child’s Genius and Tricky Teens, and has also co-authored a series of programs for the promotion of resilience and emotional intelligence used in over 3500 schools in Britain and Australia.

Andrew is a clinical psychologist and specialises in the well-being of young people and their families. He is a Fellow of the Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Learning and Educational Development at the University of Melbourne.

Generating authentic ‘real’ language practice for your students: two motivating projects:
1. Hear from Leah Rosebrock & Suzie Han about their creation of a language enrichment program (English and Chinese) at the Collegiate
School, Hobart. Last term Suzie and Leah ran a 5-week program after school for Australian students learning Chinese language (Years 6 – 12). Each week, pairs of Chinese native-speaker students prepared and presented a lesson on an aspect of Chinese culture. There were sessions on food, Tai chi, clothing and other topics.
2. Hear from Lisa Stautmeister from ‘joiningthedots’ about ‘The Welcome
Dinner Project’ (www.joiningthedots.org).
This project focuses on creating social connections between newly arrived
and established Australians through sharing a meal together,
where authentic language practice is a common side-effect.
3. In the final stage of the forum, we’ll share ideas and resources on this
topic. PLEASE BRING ALONG IDEAS or MATERIALS you’ve used
successfully with your students, especially any ideas on how to get
students practicing their English or LOTE outside ‘formal’ classes and in
(near-)authentic contexts.

Thursday 10th August 2017
5pm – 7pm

Derwent Sailing Squadron
23 Marieville Esplanade
Sandy Bay

Members $10
Non-members $20

Cash or cheques only

RSVP by Tue 8th August

contact.tastesol@gmail.com

✓ Light refreshments provided ✓ Drinks available from the bar
Join us for a meal at the venue afterwards.

Square Pegs’ Tasmanian 2017 Conference brings together world leading experts in the fields of dyslexia and dyscalculia, who will provide a wealth of valuable information, research and innovative, evidence validated strategies to assist in the successful acquisition of skills in language, literacy and numeracy for all children, including those who learn differently.

Dr Steve Chinn
International researcher, consultant and author of The Trouble with Maths. Expert in dyscalculia and former Principal of UK specialist dyslexia schools.Judy Hornigold
Independent UK based education consultant specialising in dyslexia and dyscalculia.Sarah Asome
Learning and Curriculum Support Leader, Bentleigh West Primary and Victorian Outstanding Teacher awardee.Bill Hansberry
Specialist in teaching students with dyslexia and training for schools in Specific Learning Disabilities (SLDs) and author.Mandy Nayton
Executive Officer of DSF Literacy and Clinical Services. Educational and developmental psychologist, qualified teacher and current President of AUSPELD.Professor Michael Rowan
Emeritus Professor at the University of South Australia and co-founder of the Tasmanian Education Ambassadors.James Justice Bond
Advocate for the rights of children and adults with dyslexia, instrumental in introduction of a number of laws to support people with dyslexia.

Accredited representatives of member associations or their proxy are invited to an extraordinary Special Meeting of the 2016/2017 NEAT Executive management committee:
* to receive nominations and elect officers to the Secretary and Treasurer filling the casual vacancies occurring at the recent AGM, November 10, at the RYCT; and
* to ratify the draft revisions of the NEAT Constitution.

Venue/time: The senior school library at The Hutchins School, 71 Nelson Rd, Sandy Bay at 4.30-5.30pm.

Minutes of AGM 2016 The nomination form is available on the Associations’ page of this blog and the draft changes to the Constitution can be viewed on the Welcome page.

Hear from guest speaker, Scott Shelton, Manager, My Education, Learning Services Southern Region. He will address members on the DoE My Education initiative as a supportive and inclusive approach to career education.

The AGM will follow on from this general Term 4 NEAT Meeting at 4.30pm – 5.30pm, where Member Association Executives are invited to attend to discuss or share any new endeavours, successes or issues and recommendations for the year ahead. Refreshments provided.

Mike Frost & Associates – Education and Training Consultancy [www.mikefrostassociates.com.au] requests that the NEAT network in Tasmania is informed that Ian Jukes, an international presenter on the impact of emerging digital technology on teaching and learning is proposing an ‘up close and personal’ events schedule across Australia in June and July 2016. He last came to Tasmania in 2005 as part of the 10 day conference extravaganza Leading Lifelong Learning hosted by the Tasmanian Government and he was the outstanding presenter amongst a group of international speakers. Most recently he was at the Edutech Conference in Brisbane. Mike attaches a InfoSavvy21 Event Presentation Information-Teacher AUS Final copy (002) promotional flyer which will tell you more about Ian and his proposed program for Australia. He will advise dates in the near future.